Ipecac Distributed In L.v. Not Tainted Briefly

May 10, 1988|The Morning Call

More than 100 bottles of syrup of Ipecac distributed in March by HealthEast hospitals and the Lehigh Valley Poison Center were not among those recalled as potentially deadly, a hospital spokesman said yesterday.

"We used a different company," Fred Pane, assistant director for Allentown Hospital's pharmacy, said about the 50 doses of Ipecac given to the parents of pediatric patients and another 80 doses sold at cost to employees. The Ipecac was distributed during poison prevention week.

HealthEast obtained its Ipecac from UDL Laboratories in Rockford, Ill., Pane said, not from Humco, which voluntarily recalled hundreds of thousands of bottles of the product April 29, after discovering that it had incorrectly labeled bottles of oil of eucalyptus.

Ipecac normally is used to induce vomiting in children who are suspected of having eaten some dangerous product. But oil of eucalyptus could be fatal if given to children.

Pane said he had received calls from people worried thatthe bottles they received during poison prevention week also could be tainted.

"We just want to assure our patients that the product, as we know it, is OK. We don't have a problem," he said.